costumes and candy and cavities, OH MY!

guess who lulu was for halloween?

naturally, after finding her costume, i was inspired to have wizard of oz themed costumes for our family. except i sort of forgot the minor detail that our family may be past the themed costume stage. i had only one willing to walk down the yellow brick road with his dorothy...

this teenage tin man definitely had a heart! actually, tate wasn't the only one headed to oz.

we had toto too...

while one "eased on down the road", another was doing the roger rabbit...

with her cousin caitie who, thanks to crimped hair, blue eye shadow and a fanny pack, made her look totally rad. fer sure.

caitie also made lulu totally happy as she carried her around the neighborhood...

those ruby red slippers aren't so magical when they are too big.

cousin lane brought another classic to life as frodo...

of course there had to be some trick to our treat, so we had a whoopee cushion in the mix...

complete with sound effects. i have no right to complain since i am the one who bought it for him.

pumpkin carving...

didn't happen this year so i took a picture of our neighbors' impressive display and am pretending in my mind that they were ours. delusional it may be, but it is also devoid of pumpkin guts so it works for me.

our pumpkin came in the form of the biggest treat of the night. my sister's curried pumpkin soup. and because i love it (and you), the here is the recipe...

1 large onion, sliced

3/4 C. sliced scallions, white part only

1/4 C. butter

1 16oz. can pumpkin

4 C. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 t. sugar

1/2 t. curry powder

1/8 t. nutmeg

fresh parsley sprigs

2 C. half&half

salt and pepper to taste

dash red pepper

saute onions and scallions in butter until golden in soup pot. stir in pumpkin, broth, bay leaf, sugar, curry powder and nutmeg. bring to simmer and continue simmering uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. transfer soup to food processor or blender in batches and puree. after all is blended, return to pot. add half&half, salt and pepper and simmer 5-10 minutes.

you're welcome.

actually, i think we had an appropriate theme after all. one that fits our family perfectly.

our theme was QUIRKY...

no matter how quirky it may be, truly there is no place like home.